Customers grapple with poor mobile coverage

Complaints about poor coverage make up more than half of all fault complaints to the Ombudsman.

ABC News: Liz Farquhar

Australians fed up with poor mobile phone coverage will get a chance to voice their concerns when a summit with telcos is held in July, but there is no industry code to force improvements.

The number of complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman fell in the final half of last year for the first time, as telcos responded to disgruntled customers and strengthened the industry code of conduct.

However, poor coverage, which accounts for more than half of all mobile fault complaints, is not a problem covered by the industry code.

Such is the concern over mobile coverage that a summit involving telcos and consumers and headed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be held in July.

Concerns have been raised over spotty mobile coverage around Australia, especially when combined with locked in phone contracts.

Vodafone customer Emma Paget-Wilkes and her husband never had problems with the network until they moved from Sydney to the outskirts of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales in August last year.

Now making and receiving calls and using the internet is almost impossible, and Ms Paget-Wilkes says it has left her virtually cut off.

She spoke to the ABC via mobile phone from a far corner of her house, which is the only area with coverage.

"We came up here to have a baby, so I had a newborn, my husband works away in Sydney every week, therefore I'm left here on my own with a network that doesn't work effectively, that I feel l don't have any trust in," she said.

"Consumers at the moment are free to essentially make choices amongst their providers," he said.

"Our competitive market presumably has an important role to play here."

Some rural customers only have one reliable network for coverage, Telstra, but Mr Chia says that is still a market issue.

"It's driven entirely by the market and is a matter really for the Government," he said.

Need for standard

Former Vodafone customer Adam Bromo, who was behind the social media Vodafail campaign that blew the lid on Vodafone's network problems, says enforcing a minimum standard of coverage in the industry code would be welcomed by consumers.

"It is important to talk about them. It's also important to get something done," he said.

"I think the idea of some sort of standard is a good one because people are also wondering what exactly they're signing up for when they sign onto a mobile plan."

Optus and Telstra have declined to comment on the upcoming talk fest, Vodafone is supportive of the summit and its spokeswomen Karina Keisler agrees that it is the customers who eventually drive change.

"We're improving every day in the way we interact with our customers," she said.

"We don't want to bring you in if we can't offer you the service that you need because that's only going to result in a negative experience."

For Ms Paget-Wilkes, her experience with Vodafone have made her wary of the industry.

While Vodafone has agreed to release her of her contract at a significantly reduced cost, she thinks telcos should consider shorter contract periods.

"For me, from my experience its like they can hide behind the fact that you're locked in for two years," she said.